A Zimbabwe police officer is now awaiting his fate after being sentenced to 10 days for using a toilet reserved for President Robert Mugabe. Homicide officer Alois Mabhunu was convicted by an internal police court for using the president's reserved bathroom during an international trade fair.

Mabhunu was working security at the fair when he rushed over to the VIP toilets reserved for the president and the head of the African Export Import Bank, Jean Louis Ekra. He allegedly forced his way into the bathrooms after officers tried to stop him.

Aside from serving 10 days, Mabhunu has since been demoted and will no longer be allowed to wear plain clothes. A relative of the officer said that he was not represented by a lawyer at the hearing in which he was sentenced. Mabhunu hopes that Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri will decide to overturn the guilty verdict later this week.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena refused to comment on the specifics of the situation but did mention that Mabhunu failed to obey instructions, and the law had to "take its course."

We're about following the rules just as much as the next person -- and security concerns for a head of state are to be taken seriously -- but sometimes, when you've got to go, you've got to go. They couldn't cut him a break? But given Zimbabwe's record of human rights and civil liberties violation under Mugabe, we aren't surprised by the punishment. Mabhunu is probably lucky it wasn't harsher.